Canada could face division if these Alberta separatist voters have their way

Channel: CBS News

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] A vote that could change Canada forever

[0:02] and have ripple effects here in the

[0:04] United States. Voters in the western

[0:07] province of Alberta are deciding whether

[0:10] or not, listen to this, to separate from

[0:13] the country of Canada. It comes as

[0:14] Canada deals with a trade war with the

[0:17] United States and continued threats from

[0:18] President Trump to make the nation what

[0:21] he has said the 51st state. Alberta is

[0:24] also home to most of Canada's oil

[0:26] reserves. Ian Lee traveled to the town

[0:28] of Raymond to find out why some are

[0:30] considering independence.

[0:32] >> Yeah, it's a little piece of heaven up

[0:33] here.

[0:35] >> It doesn't get much better than this for

[0:37] Robert Hegy, living life on the Alberta

[0:39] prairie. His family roots run deep in

[0:42] this province of nearly 5 million

[0:44] people. They settled here over a hundred

[0:46] years ago.

[0:47] >> I'm a proud Canadian. Proud to say I'm

[0:50] from Canada. The Heggys helped start

[0:52] Canada's first rodeo in the small town

[0:55] of Raymond. Today, he's the president of

[0:57] the rodeo association.

[0:59] >> We're on a mission to save tradition,

[1:01] >> but some traditions could abruptly

[1:03] change this fall in October. Albertans

[1:06] began voting this week in a referendum

[1:09] on whether the province should remain in

[1:11] Canada.

[1:11] >> I'm not sure yet. Neither side has

[1:13] convinced me.

[1:14] >> How do you see the decision moving

[1:16] forward? I'm glad that we're going to

[1:18] have a right to vote on it because

[1:19] that's that's one thing they shouldn't

[1:21] be able to ever take away from us is the

[1:23] right to vote.

[1:24] >> While Robert remains on the fence, his

[1:26] daughter-in-law has already made up her

[1:28] mind.

[1:29] >> What could Ottawa do to help convince

[1:30] you

[1:32] >> to stay?

[1:34] >> Nothing.

[1:35] >> That ship has sailed,

[1:36] >> right?

[1:37] >> Alberta is the most conservative

[1:39] province in Canada. Much of it is rural

[1:42] where the separatism movement is rooted.

[1:44] It's here, unlike in the big cities of

[1:46] Calgary and Edmonton, that many have

[1:48] grievances. They feel overt taxed,

[1:51] overregulated, and under reppresented in

[1:53] the nation's capital, Ottawa.

[1:55] >> Well, you guys fought a revolution over

[1:56] it. It's called taxation without

[1:58] representation.

[1:59] >> Jeff Wrath is a leader in the push to

[2:01] separate.

[2:02] >> We're literally the golden goose that's

[2:03] being throttled on an ongoing basis. And

[2:05] I mean, they're not just happy enough to

[2:07] take all of our money, but they also

[2:08] want to kill all of our industry. But

[2:10] most polls show an uphill battle with

[2:13] about 20% saying they want to leave.

[2:16] >> Most of that support is made up by

[2:18] people who are not hardcore separatists.

[2:20] >> Jason Kenny is a former premier of

[2:22] Alberta. He says he understands the

[2:24] anger and frustration.

[2:26] >> They're looking at this as a chance to

[2:28] send a message to Ottawa.

[2:30] >> You are someone that wants to remain in

[2:32] Canada. Why is that?

[2:34] >> Well, first of all, because I am a

[2:35] patriotic Canadian. You got to accept

[2:37] that no country is perfect. that there

[2:39] is a Alberta does have legitimate

[2:41] grievances, but they are best addressed

[2:43] within the Canadian Federation.

[2:45] >> For Robert, he has until Monday to

[2:48] decide if he'll vote to start a new

[2:50] tradition toward an independent Alberta.

[2:53] For CBS Saturday morning, Ian Lee,

[2:56] Raymond, Alberta.

[2:58] >> The most recent polls show this is most

[3:00] likely not going to pass, but the also

[3:02] in the polls, it shows that this issue

[3:05] is not going away. They could vote on

[3:07] this again in a few years. I mean, and

[3:09] it is significant. I I know it's 20%

[3:11] that want this independence, but 20% in

[3:12] this province is not nothing. And for

[3:15] the prime minister of Canada to be, you

[3:17] know, working to try to keep Alberta

[3:19] here when he's from Alberta, keep them

[3:20] part of Canada says a